Bangkok

When is Songkran 2027 and what closes?

Booking April. I need dates, not a water-fight montage. TAT’s 2026 Bangkok programme already ran.

Core holiday vs extra days

Layer	What to treat as true on 30 Aug 2026
Public-holiday core	13–15 April every year (Thai New Year). 2027 those days are Tue–Thu
TAT festival programme	2026 Bangkok “Maha Songkran” was promoted 11–15 April. 2027’s extra stage days are not a Gazette you can quote yet
Extra government days	Cabinet sometimes adds a day so the break is longer. That is announced closer to April, not in August
What actually closes	Banks, many offices, some clinics. Transport is full, not shut. Alcohol rules in some zones — read the year’s TAT/city notice

Best time already flags mid-April as heat + festival, not a quiet temple week. Do not plan a visa-office morning on the 13th.

City and whether you want water or want to avoid it. Those are two trips.

13–15 is the core every year. Extra days are a Cabinet story in Q1, not something I would sell you in August. Hotels will still fill on the rumour.

23d

Chiang Mai water starts before the 13th in practice. If you want temples and no buckets, do not book the moat that week. Different trip.

23d

Immigration offices and banks: treat mid-April as closed or a circus. Extend before, not during.

22d

Phuket beaches still have water trucks. If you hate it, a quieter coast is a better plan than a “dry hotel” fantasy on the strip.

22d

April is also late haze risk in the north. 2026 still had smoke after Songkran on satellite. Water festival plus grey air is a combo people forget.

22d

TAT 2026 Bangkok programme was 11–15 at Benchakitti. That is last year’s stage, not a 2027 contract. Watch TAT in Q1.

22d

Phone in a dry bag. That is the practical kit, not a date.

22d

10-day first trip in April: the itinerary page already says festival, not three cities. I would cut, not add Pai.

22d

Flights and sleepers sell out. Book the night before you need it, not “we will 12Go on the 12th.”

22d

Halal food still exists that week. The problem is streets closed and wet bags, not the kitchen map.

21d

Gulf vs Andaman in April is the coast guide. Songkran is a calendar overlay on top of weather, not instead of it.

21d